

WOOL. 43 



to the parts of the body from which it is derived. In gene- 

 ral, the wool becomes less fine, proceeding from the neck 

 towards the extremities, so that the wool on the breech is 

 more coarse than that on the back and sides. It is a pro- 

 cess of art to separate the finer from the coarser parts in an 

 individual fleece, and this into such number of divisions as 

 suits the nature of the wool, or the manufacture intended. 

 The number of these divisions varies from six to ten, or, in 

 many cases, to a greater number. The fleece being un- 

 rolled, the workman at his table, with a clear light thrown 

 upon him, and guided by the eye and touch, culls out the 

 several locks, as distinguished by the fineness of the fila- 

 ments. These being put into baskets placed around him, 

 are afterwards collected into distinct packages ; and thus the 

 manufacturer is supplied with wool of the peculiar quality 

 required. This operation is sometimes performed under the 

 direction of the manufacturers themselves, but more com- 

 monly by a class of persons termed wool- staplers, who pur- 

 chase the raw material from the grower, and dispose of it 

 after being assorted to the manufacturer. The operative 

 part of the process is one of great nicety, to which men are 

 trained, as to the other mechanical arts, by a regular ap- 

 prenticeship.* 



Wool is eminently suited to the reception of colours by 

 the dyeing process, excelling in this respect silk, and much 

 more cotton, and all other vegetable substances. White 

 wool receives the colouring matter more readily than black, 

 the finer parts of the fleece more readily than the coarser, 

 and the wool of healthy Sheep more readily than that of 

 those which are unhealthy. The natural colour of wool is 

 often black, and black filaments are frequently mixed with 

 the white. The intermixture is regarded as a great defect, 

 the black filaments being unsuited for the reception of the 

 brighter and more delicate colours in dyeing. The inter- 

 mixture of black wool with white is most apt to take place 



* Remarks by the Author on Wool, aliunde. 



